Chapter 33
Suddenly, small snowflakes floated in the sky and fell on the shoulders of pedestrians.
Jian Xinyi was so confused that she couldn't breathe. It was the first time she heard Qian Yuan say such words so seriously.
I didn't know how to answer for a moment.
A few snowflakes fell on her fingertips, quietly melting into water, adding a sense of coldness.
The snow was growing thicker and thicker, just like the first day she arrived here.
She couldn't see his eyes clearly through the falling snow, and she didn't know whether he was asking sincerely or if he already knew the answer to this question.
"What do you think?"
Jian Xinyi cleverly asked the question back.
Qian Yuan suddenly laughed, and the broken snow on his shoulders was gently shaken off and scattered around the two of them.
"I thought you wouldn't answer me." He walked closer slowly until there was no more snow blocking their gazes. "It seems you think the same as I do."
Jian Xinyi was forced to look directly into Qian Yuan's eyes full of burning love, and she felt a little lost.
I don’t know why this love comes, and I don’t know when it will disappear.
I am afraid that he will love me passionately, and I am even more afraid that he will withdraw completely.
She lowered her head silently, "How do you know you think the same as I do?"
"I was thinking that for a prince, you are very petty."
Jian Xinyi folded her arms and waited for his answer.
Qian Yuan was stunned at first, and looked at her in disbelief, "Small-minded?"
Jian Xinyi strode forward and distanced herself from Qian Yuan. "Having three wives and four concubines has been a common practice since ancient times. Why is it that when it comes to me, you can't stand having a few more friends?"
"If this isn't petty, what is it?"
Qian Yuan was so angry that he gasped. He resisted the urge to punch the air and kicked the snow pile instead. As a result, the snow pile was so cold that his toes hurt.
Jian Xinyi looked back and saw him grinning. She couldn't help laughing out loud, "Serves you right."
Qian Yuan waved his sleeves and turned to walk back.
Jian Xinyi shook her head helplessly. She had forgotten.
Qian Yuan was just a child at his age, but he was stuffed into the shell of a prince, which always gave her the illusion.
The wind and snow seemed to have died down a bit, and her pace became faster.
Suddenly, there was a sound of a door slamming in the distance, and the man inside the door roared to the outside, "I'm telling you, I'm not done with you."
Jian Xinyi was a little curious and glanced over there.
There were not many people on the street, and she could tell at a glance that the man was the thin scholar who always ran to the bookstore.
He stood alone at the door of the house, letting the snow fall.
"Why are you here?"
Jian Xinyi walked forward and turned her head to look at him.
But she saw that the young man was staring at her straight, his eyes were extremely dark, like an abyss, so terrifying that if she fell in, she would never make a sound again.
Her heart skipped a beat, "What...what happened?"
The young man looked at her calmly and lowered his head. "Nothing, he just kicked me out."
"Kick them out?"
"I usually grab some things from the back mountain and sell them to him for money. This time, he thought my goods were unclean and refused to buy them." He recounted these things with a deadpan expression. "My parents are farmers in town. They spent half their life savings to support my education. Now that the Spring Examination is here, I have to give them an explanation. At the very least, I can't spend their money anymore."
Jian Xinyi lowered her head slightly and caught a glimpse of his hands from the corner of her eye. His extremely thin fingers were covered with scars.
"Thank you for your hard work."
The young man turned around and smiled at her gently, but there was still a lingering darkness in his eyes.
"It's okay. As long as I pass the exam, everything will be worth it."
The two were silent for a long time. As they walked, the wind and snow grew stronger and stronger, and a thick layer of snow accumulated on both sides of the road.
The young man suddenly asked, "Have you been to the Dali Temple recently?"
"Yes, at least until this case is solved."
Jian Xinyi looked at the heavy snow and couldn't help but sigh, "Once it snows, it will be even harder to find clues."
"Maybe he's right in front of you?"
She looked up suddenly, confusion and shock meeting in her eyes.
"I was joking."
The man shrugged and looked at her with amusement.
Jian Xinyi's face darkened, her expression extremely serious, and she warned him, "This is not funny at all. This is a matter of life and death."
"Really?"
The man snorted coldly and walked away quickly.
Jian Xinyi was completely confused by him and had no idea what he was thinking.
The wind and snow were lighter than before, and the sky was getting darker. Jian Xinyi hurried back to the bookstore.
As soon as he entered the house, Lao Lin started to complain, "How come dinner is cold when I just got back?"
"Something delayed me."
Jian Xinyi recalled the two men who abandoned her, and she was so angry that she ate all the food in a slam.
"What's going on? Is the work at the Dali Temple so tiring?"
Jian Xinyi's mouth was puffed up, but she didn't forget to criticize the two people.
"It's annoying, not tiring."
"Okay, eat quickly, and then go to bed quickly. It's snowing heavily." Lao Lin curled up, put his hands in his pockets, and went back to the room with a sigh.
Jian Xinyi was left outside alone, looking at the falling snow outside the house, holding her chin, and began to daydream.
Suddenly, he saw the unsold books on his shelf and sighed like Lao Lin.
Never mind, finishing the story is more important.
Jian Xinyi was about to close the door and go back to the room to continue drawing the plot. Just as she reached the door, the young man came in again.
She rolled her eyes and quickly stopped him.
"Closed."
"Miss Lin, I have something to tell you, could you please come out for a moment?"
Jian Xinyi tilted her head and looked at him, a little puzzled. "What do you want to say?"
In the darkness, she couldn't see the eyes of the person opposite her, let alone guess what he was thinking.
"Come out and tell me. I'm afraid I can't explain it clearly in just a few words."
At this time, the wind and snow had stopped, but there was still a thin layer of snow on the ground. The two people walked on the snow, and the sound of stepping on the snow did not stop.
The man turned around and glanced at the ground, not knowing what he was looking at. Then he looked up at her and said, "What I said today has annoyed you."
It's an apology, but there's no real apology.
Jian Xinyi watched him walk into the alley, feeling a little scared. She stopped on the road and said, "Let's stop here."
The man narrowed his eyes slightly, and raised the corners of his mouth. "What are you afraid of? I won't hurt you."
"I just don't want to leave."
Jian Xinyi stood by the roadside, looking at the deserted streets around her. "I don't know when this case will be solved. If it's delayed any further, the entire street will be closed down."
His voice trembled slightly, "Are you still worried about this?"
"Of course." Jian Xinyi suddenly turned around and looked at him, "We are the ones who have to work hard and fight for ourselves."
"I hope you can pass the imperial examination and no longer have to endure the hardships of hunting in the mountains. I also hope I can finish my story soon, fetch a good price, and live a comfortable life with plenty of food and drink."
"Everyone on the street is living a good life. Isn't that good?"
The man's lips trembled slightly, but he didn't say anything.
Looking at him like this, Jian Xinyi's mind was in turmoil and she didn't dare to make a sound.
She didn't know why, but she was afraid of him.
But there was nothing suspicious about him at all. The only suspicious thing was what he said today.
It's always good to be careful.
In particular, she was the first person to discover the crime scene and was so close to the Dali Temple.
Moreover, this was not the first or second time that he showed such concern for the case.
The two of them talked so much, but he didn't even reveal a single word about his surname, name, or hometown.
But Jian Xinyi had no evidence.
"I feel like you and I are the same type of people." She didn't know whether it was right or wrong, but she chose to continue, "I have my own ideals, but I don't have a stage to display them. I'm afraid of getting hurt, and even more afraid of losing everything after failure."
"I just realized that you are very good at inspiring people."
The man approached step by step. The surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of Jian Xinyi's heartbeat like a drum could be heard.
She clenched her fists and thought about how to dodge the first dagger attack.
Anyway, this isn't the first time I've been silenced, so I have some experience.
"The snow stopped tonight, and I remembered what you said." He gently touched Jian Xinyi's neck with his fingertips, finally lingering on her beating pulse, "When the snow stops, the clues can no longer be covered."
After a long time, Jian Xinyi felt like a century had passed, before he let her go.
"Let's go back. It will be bad if the snow starts falling again."
She hurried back to the bookstore in a panic, only to see that the lights were still on even though they should have been off.
She was greeted by two groups of people from the Dali Temple and the Jinwu Guard.
When her father saw her coming back, he quickly went up to hug her and said, "Zhuiyu, tell them it wasn't you who did it."
"What?"
Jian Xinyi was at a loss.
The Right Chancellor of the Dali Temple stepped forward from the crowd and confidently declared, "Criminal Lin Zhuiyu, someone has used a blood letter as evidence to accuse you of murdering Zhao Huazhong and Song Wentian. Now that Dragon Frost Powder has been found in your room, what excuse do you have?"
"No... Impossible. This must be a frame-up." Jian Xinyi was suddenly grabbed by the arms by two Jinwu Guards, unable to move. "I don't know either of them, why would I kill them? Besides, I was the first one to find Song Wentian's body. If I killed him, why would I report it to the authorities?"
The Right Prime Minister pointed at her nose and rebuked her righteously, "This is the sophistication of your scheme. Not only did you deceive the Jinwu Guards, you also fooled the Dali Temple."
"That's nonsense. Is that how you solve cases?"
Jian Xinyi looked around and found that no one could testify for him. She could only desperately think of this man's loopholes.
"Dragon Frost Powder, Dragon Frost Powder, how do you explain it? There's no way I could get this stuff."
"How is it impossible? You've been at Huichuntang all day these past few days, so it wouldn't be easy for you to get some Dragon Frost Powder?" The Right Prime Minister glanced at an adjutant beside him. The adjutant stepped forward and said, "The owner of Huichuntang once said that he lost ten taels of Dragon Frost Powder recently. Now there's only one tael left in this bag."
"How could this be?" Jian Xinyi was held to the ground by the Jinwu Guards, and suddenly her mind recalled the man's every move.
No wonder, even though they knew she was from the Dali Temple and that she was the first discoverer, they didn't kill her.
It turns out that this big move had already been laid out.
I'm afraid this blood letter was written by the person who kicked him out today after his death, in order to frame her.
Blame her... for underestimating the enemy.
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